Arts groups still struggle to survive

Linda Conner Lambeck

Published 8:51 am, Saturday, August 16, 2014

Kalissa Samuel, front and center, rehearses a dance routine with other teens in the summer dance camp run by Neighborhood Studios of Fairfield County, at the Klein Memorial Auditorium, in Bridgeport, Conn. Aug. 7, 2014.
Photo: Ned Gerard

Millenia Polanco, center, rehearses a dance routine with other teens in the summer dance camp run by Neighborhood Studios of Fairfield County, at the Klein Memorial Auditorium, in Bridgeport, Conn. Aug. 7, 2014.
Photo: Ned Gerard

Shayane Davis rehearses a dance routine with other teens in the summer dance camp run by Neighborhood Studios of Fairfield County, at the Klein Memorial Auditorium, in Bridgeport, Conn. Aug. 7, 2014.
Photo: Ned Gerard

Participants in a four-week Alvin Ailey dance camp were rehearsing hours before they were to perform live for an audience of 500 or more. The camp is run by Neighborhood Studios of Fairfield County on East Washington Avenue, which oversees three summer camps and more than a dozen school-year programs.

The Ailey concert was free, but donations were accepted, and many tied to Neighborhood Studios hoped those in attendance would be generous. "Fundraising is a major issue -- more this year than other years," said Frank Derico, executive director of the 37-year-old organization.

Though charitable giving rebounded both nationally and in Connecticut since the 2008 recession, many small nonprofits are still struggling. That's particularly true of organizations connected to the arts that don't have endowments, such as Neighborhood Studios.

Weeks before the books close on this fiscal year, the organization is still working to close a $50,000 gap in its $1.1 million operating budget, according to Brian Sobelman, the group's director of development and operations.

Arts funding plateaus

Neighborhood Studio's situation is far from unique, said Fiona K. Hodgson, vice president of development and marketing for the Fairfield County Community Foundation. She said survival has become particularly tough for "a small organization with a mission, wonderful volunteers and a small staff and a small budget."

Giving USA, an annual report on philanthropy, showed a 4.4 percent increase nationwide in giving in 2013 over the previous year. Giving has increased four years in a row, though it still has not reached pre-recession levels. Last year, $335 billion was donated nationwide.

Nearly one of every three donated dollars goes toward religious causes. Education got about 16 percent of donations last year nationwide, followed by human services at 12 percent. Arts and culture gets just 5 percent of the giving pie. Funding to arts peaked in 2006, according to Hodgson. Since then it hasn't really declined, but hasn't increased, either.

Struggling to survive

That's bad news for an organization like Neighborhood Studios, which Hodgson said is working to raise its visibility in the suburbs. It's also gotten some money through such sources as grants and a small amount of tuition, but corporate giving is off. The Fairfield County Community Foundation is one of Neighborhood Studio's biggest and most consistent supporters, contributing more than $560,000 since 2009.

In addition to the Ailey camp, the organization's summer programs include Camp Hart, a six-week camp that serves children with special needs and their non-disabled peers, and the Conservatory, a job-training program in the arts that prepares those aged 13 to 19 for post-secondary education and careers. School-year programs include a Saturday arts program for students with special needs, a dance academy, and music programs.

To stay afloat, the organization has pared back the size of some programs, such as cutting the Ailey camp from six weeks to four.

Neighborhood Studio also rebranded itself in the hopes of reaching more funding sources. Previously called the Music and Arts Center for Humanity, it changed its name and began focusing on the impact the arts has on participants. More than 95 percent of those in the special needs program last summer increased their literacy skills, according to Derico, and 90 percent of Conservatory participants graduated high school. For middle-schoolers who attended the Ailey camp, there is a huge boost in social and emotional outcomes.

"They learn to dance but they also learn about goal-setting," Derico said. "They talk about hot-button topics like body image, drug abuse and peer pressure. They also learn how to positively react and deal with those issues."

The camp was definitely a turning point for Serena Green, now a college graduate who comes back to work and volunteer at the camp. She participated when she was 13, and loved the experience.

"When I started I was so insecure," Green said. "It made me more outgoing. The kids and dances get better every year. It's amazing."